Everything We Know About Disenchanted So Far

Life was different in the mid-2000s. Amy Adams was only starting to make a name for herself thanks to her Oscar-nominated turn in 2005's "Junebug," and outside of "Shrek" and its sequel, films rarely dared to make fun of Disney's animated princess fairy tale movies. Then came 2007's "Enchanted," a hybrid of live-action and animation featuring a star-making performance from Adams as Giselle, a comically wide-eyed young woman who gets pulled from the fantastical, animated realm of Andalasia into real-world New York City — a place where (as Giselle soon learns) relationships are more complicated and breaking into spontaneous song-and-dance is fairly uncommon. Well, unless you're part of a flash mob.

"Enchanted" was a critical and box office hit that allowed Disney to have its cake and eat it too, in the way it poked good-natured fun at the studio's outdated animated princess fairy tale movie formula while still making a hefty profit and ushering in the next era of Disney films. The House of Mouse wasted little time on getting a sequel off the ground after that, although it would take more than ten years for all the needed pieces to fall into place. Here's what we know about "Disenchanted" so far.

"Disenchanted" will stream exclusively on Disney+ starting Fall 2022. Disney's been working on the "Enchanted" sequel since 2010, back when it had its eye on releasing the film one year later. After that, however, the movie found itself stuck between a rock and a hard place, with different writers coming aboard to write and re-write the script. And while it seemed like "Disenchanted" was on the brink of clawing its way out of pre-production purgatory in late 2016, it didn't secure an official green-light until December 2020, when Disney confirmed the movie was happening at its Investors Day event.

It is possible, even likely, that scheduling was another roadblock for the sequel, seeing as Adams and her "Enchanted" co-stars have stayed busy since the movie came out. That, and, of course, changes to the theatrical landscape, with superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy franchises taking over the multiplex in the 2010s, along with the cottage industry that is Disney's live-action remakes of its animated films. With rom-coms being mostly relegated to streaming services and movie musicals seeing mixed box office success, it's no shock that Disney didn't perceive "Disenchanted" (a sequel to a musical rom-com) as a top priority during this period.

According to its synopsis, "Disenchanted" will pick up in real-time (read: 15 years later) after the events of the original movie, with Giselle and divorce lawyer Robert Philip living with their teenage daughter, Morgan. Upon leaving NYC behind for the suburbs of Monroeville, Giselle "must juggle the challenges that come with a new home and discover what happily ever after truly means to her and her new family."

The hope is that "Disenchanted" will build on its predecessor's satire of fairy tale tropes while delivering catchy tunes and flashy musical numbers to match those from "Enchanted." Nowadays, Disney making fun of its old-school princess movie formula is as tired a cliche as, well, the cliches it's mocking. So it's going to be all the trickier for "Disenchanted" to avoid rehashing the first movie's jokes and bring something fresher to the table. Then again, this could be where the sequel benefits from the extended break between films, allowing "Disenchanted" to lampoon Disney's princess adventures from the last decade as much as (if not more than) those from well over half a century ago.

Adams and Patrick Dempsey are reprising their "Enchanted" roles as Giselle and Robert for the sequel, with James Marsden and Idina Menzel also returning as, respectively, Andalasia's himbo Prince Edward and Robert's ex-girlfriend turned Edward's wife and Queen of Andalasia, Nancy Tremaine. Gabriella Baldacchino ("Ask for Jane") is taking over the role of Morgan for "Disenchanted," with Yvette Nicole Brown ("Community"), Jayma Mays ("Glee"), and Maya Rudolph ("Saturday Night Live") rounding out the cast in key roles.

Adam Shankman ("Hairspray") is directing "Disenchanted," with Brigette Hales ("Once Upon a Time") reportedly writing the film's most recent script draft, and Disney legend Alan Menken penning the music and songs, as he did on the first movie. And if you think Disney is going to repeat the mistake of not having Broadway superstar Menzel sing like the original film did (due to her one song being cut) in a post-"Let It Go" world, rest assured, the "Enchanted" sequel will correct that oversight by giving her a set of tunes to perform.